Ultrasound activated probe for disease imaging and therapy In-Vivo

Nanocatalytic medicine enabled next-generation therapeutics for bacterial infections

The rapid rise of antibiotic-resistant strains and the persistence of biofilm-associated infections have significantly challenged global public health. Unfortunately, current clinical high-dose antibiotic regimens and combination therapies often fail to completely eradicate these infections, which can lead to adverse side effects and further drug resistance. Amidst this challenge, however, the burgeoning development in nanotechnology and nanomaterials brings hopes. This review provides a comprehensive summary of recent advancements in nanomaterials for treating bacterial infections. Firstly, the research progress of catalytic therapies in the field of antimicrobials is comprehensively discussed. Thereafter, we systematically discuss the strategies of nanomaterials for anti-bacterial infection therapies, including endogenous response catalytic therapy, exogenous stimulation catalytic therapy, and catalytic immunotherapy, in order to elucidate the mechanism of nanocatalytic anti-infections. Based on the current state of the art, we conclude with insights on the remaining challenges and future prospects in this rapidly emerging field.

The advance of ultrasound-enabled diagnostics and therapeutics

Point-of-care ultrasound demonstrates significant potential in biomedical research due to its noninvasive, real-time visualization, cost-effectiveness, and other biological benefits. Ultrasound irradiation can precisely control the mechanical and physicochemical effects on pathogenic lesions, enabling real-time visualization, tunable tissue penetration depth, and therapeutic applications. This review summarizes recent advancements in ultrasound-enabled diagnostics and therapeutics, focusing on mechanochemical effects that can be directly integrated into biomedical applications. Additionally, the structure-functionality relationships of sonotheranostic nanoplatforms are systematically discussed, providing insights into the underlying biological effects. Finally, the limitations of current ultrasonic medicine are discussed, along with potential expansions to facilitate patient-centered translations.

Engineering Sonosensitizer-Derived Nanotheranostics for Augmented Sonodynamic Therapy

Sonodynamic therapy (SDT), featuring noninvasive, deeper penetration, low cost, and repeatability, is a promising therapy approach for deep-seated tumors. However, the general or only utilization of SDT shows low efficiency and unsatisfactory treatment outcomes due to the complicated tumor microenvironment (TME) and SDT process. To circumvent the issues, three feasible approaches for enhancing SDT-based therapeutic effects, including sonosensitizer optimization, strategies for conquering hypoxia TME, and combinational therapy are summarized, with a particular focus on the combination therapy of SDT with other therapy modalities, including chemodynamic therapy, photodynamic therapy, photothermal therapy, chemotherapy, starvation therapy, gas therapy, and immunotherapy. In the end, the current challenges in SDT-based therapy on tumors are discussed and feasible approaches for enhanced therapeutic effects are provided. It is envisioned that this review will provide new insight into the strategic design of high-efficiency sonosensitizer-derived nanotheranostics, thereby augmenting SDT and accelerating the potential clinical transformation.

Engineering Stimuli-Responsive Materials for Precision Medicine

Over the past decade, precision medicine has garnered increasing attention, making significant strides in discovering new therapeutic drugs and mechanisms, resulting in notable achievements in symptom alleviation, pain reduction, and extended survival rates. However, the limited target specificity of primary drugs and inter-individual differences have often necessitated high-dosage strategies, leading to challenges such as restricted deep tissue penetration rates and systemic side effects. Material science advancements present a promising avenue for these issues. By leveraging the distinct internal features of diseased regions and the application of specific external stimuli, responsive materials can be tailored to achieve targeted delivery, controllable release, and specific biochemical reactions. This review aims to highlight the latest advancements in stimuli-responsive materials and their potential in precision medicine. Initially, we introduce disease-related internal stimuli and capable external stimuli, elucidating the reaction principles of responsive functional groups. Subsequently, we provide a detailed analysis of representative pre-clinical achievements of stimuli responsive materials across various clinical applications, including enhancements in the treatment of cancers, injury diseases, inflammatory diseases, infection diseases, and high-throughput microfluidic biosensors. Finally, we discuss some clinical challenges, such as off-target effects, long-term impacts of nano-materials, potential ethical concerns, and offer insights into future perspectives of stimuli-responsive materials.

Ternary Bi2WO6/TiO2-Pt Heterojunction Sonosensitizers for Boosting Sonodynamic Therapy

Engineering Z-scheme heterojunctions represents a promising strategy for optimizing the separation and migration of charge carriers in semiconductor sonosensitizers for enhanced reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation. Nevertheless, establishing a continuous and directional pathway for ultrasonic-induced charge flow in Z-scheme heterojunctions remains a significant challenge. In this study, we present a ternary Bi2WO6/TiO2-Pt heterojunction sonosensitizer achieved through the precise growth of Pt nanocrystals on a directionally assembled Bi2WO6/TiO2 Z-scheme structure. The construction of the Bi2WO6/TiO2-Pt heterojunction involves directional growth of Bi2WO6 in situ on the highly exposed (001) crystal facet of TiO2 nanosheets, followed by the precise deposition of nano Pt on the edge (101) crystal facet. The Z-scheme Bi2WO6/TiO2 in the ternary heterojunction ensures effective electron separation, while the Schottky TiO2-Pt interface establishes a well-defined charge flow path and robust redox capabilities. Moreover, nano Pt confers the Bi2WO6/TiO2-Pt heterojunction with excellent peroxidase-mimic and catalase-mimic activities, facilitating interactions with endogenous H2O2 to produce the hydroxyl radicals and O2. It effectively alleviates tumor hypoxia and enhances ROS production. This results in significantly higher efficiency in sonodynamically induced ROS generation compared to pure TiO2 or binary Bi2WO6/TiO2 heterojunctions, as confirmed by DFT theoretical calculation and experiments with both in vitro and in vivo anticancer performance. This study offers valuable insights for designing high-performance Z-scheme sonosensitizer systems.

NIR-II light in clinical oncology: opportunities and challenges

Novel strategies utilizing light in the second near-infrared region (NIR-II; 900-1,880 nm wavelengths) offer the potential to visualize and treat solid tumours with enhanced precision. Over the past few decades, numerous techniques leveraging NIR-II light have been developed with the aim of precisely eliminating tumours while maximally preserving organ function. During cancer surgery, NIR-II optical imaging enables the visualization of clinically occult lesions and surrounding vital structures with increased sensitivity and resolution, thereby enhancing surgical quality and improving patient prognosis. Furthermore, the use of NIR-II light promises to improve cancer phototherapy by enabling the selective delivery of increased therapeutic energy to tissues at greater depths. Initial clinical studies of NIR-II-based imaging and phototherapy have indicated impressive potential to decrease cancer recurrence, reduce complications and prolong survival. Despite the encouraging results achieved, clinical translation of innovative NIR-II techniques remains challenging and inefficient; multidisciplinary cooperation is necessary to bridge the gap between preclinical research and clinical practice, and thus accelerate the translation of technical advances into clinical benefits. In this Review, we summarize the available clinical data on NIR-II-based imaging and phototherapy, demonstrating the feasibility and utility of integrating these technologies into the treatment of cancer. We also introduce emerging NIR-II-based approaches with substantial potential to further enhance patient outcomes, while also highlighting the challenges associated with imminent clinical studies of these modalities.

Advances in Injectable Hydrogels Based on Diverse Gelation Methods for Biomedical Imaging

The injectable hydrogels can deliver the loads directly to the predetermined sites and form reservoirs to increase the enrichment and retention of the loads in the target areas. The preparation and injection of injectable hydrogels involve the sol-gel transformation of hydrogels, which is affected by factors such as temperature, ions, enzymes, light, mechanics (self-healing property), and pH. However, tracing the injection, degradation, and drug release from hydrogels based on different ways of gelation is a major concern. To solve this problem, contrast agents are introduced into injectable hydrogels, enabling the hydrogels to be imaged under techniques such as fluorescence imaging, photoacoustic imaging, magnetic resonance imaging, and radionuclide imaging. This review details methods for causing the gelation of imageable hydrogels; discusses the application of injectable hydrogels containing contrast agents in various imaging techniques, and finally explores the potential and challenges of imageable hydrogels based on different modes of gelation.